Methodology based on GIS to prioritise alternatives for agri-food waste reclamation in the Basque Autonomous Community.

Objectives:Life GISWASTE is a local-level demo project which can be applied to any other European region which is struggling to manage its agrifood by-products.

The aim is to develop a GIS-based methodology and IT tool which simulates the technical, economic, and environmental viability of the recovery alternatives for the agrifood by-products (chiefly vegetables, meat, and dairy products) in the Basque Autonomous Community.

The recovery alternatives which are evaluated in the Life GISWASTE project focus on two specific areas: biogas generation and animal feed production.

The aim of the project is to:

Assist in the decision-making process for governments and businesses, lowering the risk factor when electing which recovery alternative to choose.

Reduce environmental risks in the implementation of new infrastructures, taking environmental factors into account and not just geographical and technical factors.

Reduce costs by way of a preliminary evaluation of the economic feasibility of the proposals; simulating and comparing other possible alternatives.

Foster synergies between different sources of by-products in order to provide comprehensive solutions to small firms who are struggling to install individualised solutions.

Invigorate the by-product recovery sector, fostering the generation of new economic activities in this field.